Trump considers visiting Turkey on Middle East Tour during cnversation with Pres. Erdogan
The potential visit would come after stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to a senior White House official and two sources familiar with the plan who spoke to CNN.
No decision has been made and details are being finalized, said sources.
A senior White House official told the news channel that Trump discussed the visit during a recent phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The US president is not planning to visit Israel during the trip, according to sources.
The White House did not immediately respond to Anadolu’s request for comment.
Trump previously expressed positive sentiments about his relationship with Erdogan.
“I have a very, very good relationship with Turkey and with their leader,” Trump said earlier this week, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
He described Erdogan as “a tough guy, and he’s very smart, and he did something that nobody was able to do,” referring to remarks where he said he believes “it was Turkey” that orchestrated the downfall of Syria’s former longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
If the visit materializes, it would be Trump’s first presidential trip to Turkey. His predecessors George W. Bush visited in 2004, while Barack Obama made trips to the country in 2009 and 2015.
